A compendium of knowledge of an informed internet user

The Internet is already used by almost half of people in the world, in Poland it is almost 26 million users. On average, we spend about 6 hours a day surfing the net, that is ¼ of a day. In connection with the Safer Internet Day, which we celebrate on 6 February - experts Kapitalni.org suggest how to move safely in the virtual world.

According to data from the Police Headquarters, in the period from January to November 2017 almost 6 thousand crimes related to banking were found, of which almost one third (1.8 thousand) concerned e-banking and phishing, i.e. impersonation of another person or institution. In order not to fall victim to cybercrime, it is worthwhile to familiarize oneself with rules that may protect us from serious problems in the future.

Keep your browser and system updated

Web browsers are the most vulnerable to cybercrime attacks. Therefore, the programs we use should be regularly updated to the latest versions. It is also important to update the operating system itself, on which we work.

- Browser manufacturers offer solutions to facilitate the use of the network in the form of plugins. Only those from the official website of the manufacturer should be installed. You will increase your safety by installing an ad removal plug-in, because they are often used by burglars - says Tomasz Jaroszek, expert at Kapitalni.org platform.

Be careful when using public networks

The use of the public web is not entirely safe. If our device does not use encryption when connecting to the site, unwanted people can easily intercept our logins, passwords and messages.

- Special attention should be paid when logging in to social networking sites or online banking. If there is a green padlock symbol next to the web address, our connection is safe, but the lack of it is worrying - in this case let's not give any data - explains Tomasz Jaroszek from Kapitalni.org.

Think before you open an email

It is increasingly common that emails that go into our mailbox are sent by criminals to scam our sensitive data. Most often cybercriminals impersonate banks and service providers. How do you recognize emails that are dangerous? Check the course "Popular Internet Scams".

- To stay safe on the network, it is worth following a few rules. Let's not send our sensitive data - financial institutions never ask their clients to send it electronically. We should also not download suspicious attachments and open unknown links. To find out where a given address will take us, just hover your mouse cursor over it - advises Tomasz Jaroszek from Kapitalni.org.

When you fall victim to cybercriminals

When we have suspicions that someone is trying to steal money from our account, we should call the bank helpline as soon as possible and verify that our suspicions are reasonable. Checking your online account balance is not enough, because a website prepared by criminals may show us false information.

However, if someone hacks into our email or social networking account, you must immediately change your password. - It is important not to do this from our computer, as it may have keyboard monitoring software installed. You should also reinstall the system and check your mailbox settings - if someone hasn't turned on sending copies of our messages to another address or changed the password recovery method - says Tomasz Jaroszek from Kapitalni.org.

Report to the police

In many cases it is worth reporting fraud and theft to the police. If you want to make a report, after securing access to your accounts and data, make a note of the most important information and gather available evidence, e.g. snapshots of websites, computer screens, etc. By law, you are even several years old to report a crime (depending on its type). However, it is worth not leaving it at the last minute and do it within the next few days after the event.